Eye Candy Cakes ✈ Sponsor Spotlight

Today we take a look at more artists that we were lucky enough to get to work with on our photoshoots in Paris last January: sublime cake creators Eye Candy Cakes. We were overjoyed with the four cakes (plus one special dessert request) that Eye Candy Cakes produced for us. Also, since Jenny is bi-lingual, it was really easy to get across exactly what we wanted! We highly recommend them for anyone looking for a really special occasion cake in Paris. Now over to Jenny for more info:

Can you tell us a little about Eye Candy Cakes and what you offer?

Eye Candy Cakes was created in September 2011 and we are located in Lagny sur Marne, France. I first visited France in 1998 and fell in love with the culture. I also have a very stong passion for the language- I knew that I wanted to live here and have my cake business one day. I’ve been making cakes since the age of 14. (Two passions of mine: cake decorating and foreign language.) “Eye Candy Cakes” means a pleasure for the eyes as well as for the palette. It’s very important to have a great looking cake, but even more important that it TASTES good too! At Eye Candy Cakes, we specialize in creating hand customed occasion cakes. Everything is hand created and therefore is edible, right down to the last sugar flower petal! We are a French-American cake shop: Amerian/anglophone style decoration that is accustomed to the French palette. American cakes have the reputation for being beautiful, but not tasting very good! The French HATE buttercream and so I don’t make buttercream cakes (unless I have anglophone customers who ask me for it). We make vanilla and chocolate sponge cakes that are filled with cream cheese and mascarpone flavored creams (we are now offering an Italian meringue as well!) Finally we ice our cakes with either dark or white chocolate ganache before covering with a layer of sugarpaste. Then the decoration begins! We are not a pastry shop and so we do not have cakes on sale in our boutique. All of our cakes are by order only, usually with a 15 day in advance delay. Our cakes are very time consuming to make and our weekends fill up fast! Also by order only, we offer cheesecakes made with real Philadelphia cream cheese, hand decorated sugar cookies, personalized cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies. Yum!

What advice would you have for couples who are trying to decide on a type of cake or dessert for their wedding?

We offer free tastings at our shop by appointment only. The couple usually comes with their own ideas regarding their wedding theme or specific colors in mind. Each cake is priced per slice so we ask them how many servings they’ll need to determine how many tiers the final cake will have. We usually discuss their budget which is important because our cakes are priced according to the time we’ll spend decorating it. If the cake is more simple, it will cost less than a cake that has lots of hand piping in royal icing or a cascade of sugar flowers! Our clients usually have a hard time choosing their cake flavors because they can never seem to choose which one they like best! They can have a different flavor for each tier without extra charge. During the tasting, we provide them with a sketch of their desired cake and talk them through what we think is best in terms of certain colors going together, mixing different cake shapes to achieve a certain overall look. It’s very time consuming actually. The tasting can usually last for up to one hour or even longer depending on the couple. Who knew that cake planning could take so long…? But then again, in my opinion, it’s not just cake after all…..we are creating edible art!

Can you tell us a bit more about the person behind Eye Candy Cakes, how did you come to work in the wedding industry?

As I mentioned, I’ve been passionate about cake making ever since I was 14. I started making cakes for friends and family and I began to work in cake shops in the Philadelphia area (which is where I was born and grew up). I don’t just make wedding cakes though, I make all occasion cakes each week. Lots of birthday cakes for children and adults, baby showers, baptisms, etc…I have to admit though that I PREFER doing wedding cakes! I love the haute couture of creating large tiered cakes with attention to detail for people’s special day. I do love hand piping in royal icing, sugar drape work and creating sugar flowers. Those are my preferences in what I do. I try to create a signature style around my ‘strengths’ as a designer. I think it’s the same for all cake designers.

Do you have a favourite type of cake or dessert that you love making for weddings?

Our cake is delicious, really delicious and I love eating all of our flavors. I have to admit though, that when it comes to dessert, I’m not so much a cake person. I prefer ice cream over a slice of cake…..I think ice cream is my favorite dessert! I used to make ice cream cakes in the States and maybe one day I will make them here in France. I’m just not sure if the French would catch on to that or not. Sorry to say, but the French are not always that easy to please! If I had to choose from our cake menu, I would say that our chocolate cake with either our praline or pear cream filling is probably my favorite!

Have you got any exciting plans that you’d like to tell us about?

Eye Candy Cakes is now over a year old! Time flies by fast! I do have plans hopefully in the next year to move to a bigger commerical space and I’m currently looking to expand our team. We need more hands in our production kitchen as we have more and more orders each week. Word of mouth works really well for us, it’s the best publicity! I plan to eventually give cake decorating lessons and my dream is to write a book with beautiful cake projects that guide the reader step by step to re-create and learn hands on techniques. But hey, there is the right moment for everything….and hopefully I’ll get there….one step at a time!

We think you’re definitely most of the way there Jenny! Thanks so much to Eye Candy Cakes for their masterpiece creations for us (photos coming soon!) and be sure to check out the Eye Candy Cakes website and Facebook page for more info and photos.

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Fly Away Bride is an online space dedicated to couples planning their dream destination wedding in Europe. Our aim is to provide information and inspiration that will help you plan your perfect wedding abroad.